Frostburn 2: Rekindled
by Fire Gazer the Alchemist
Summary: The Crystal Empire has fallen, and it seems like all of Equestria may follow. As a result, the Mane Six find themselves drifting apart when faced with a difficult choice. Frostburn meanwhile, hasn't been talking to anypony, and seems to be hiding a deadly secret... Sequel to The Saga of Frostburn.
1. Burning the Midnight Oil

**Chapter One – Burning the Midnight Oil**

* * *

**Twilight Sparkle**

Twilight's purple eyes were a dreary red that evening. Two days and now two nights had passed since she, her friends, and Frostburn had escaped the siege of The Crystal Empire. That's two days without hearing any word from her brother or sister-in-law. Two nights of sleepless worry.

Three hours ago, Princess Luna reported that she did not find Shining Armor, or Cadence's dreams. Princess Celestia then officially declared them both missing in action. Presumed dead.

Every one of her friends had been in the room when she got the news. None of them could stop her from running away hysterically. They had followed her, but whenever somepony got close, Twilight would teleport away in a lavender flash of light.

Eventually she found her way to the small guest room that she had been given upon her arrival. Twilight locked the door, thrown herself onto the bed, and cried into her pillow.

Now, hours later, her pillow was too damp for her to press against her face to muffle her sobs. Not that she could sob anymore – all her tears were gone. All that was left was her bloodshot eyes that held nothing but pain and sadness.

Twilight hauled herself off the bed finally, her mane a frazzled mess. She sniffled, unable to stop the noise from escaping her. In her mind, every worse possible situation was running through her mind.

Shining and Cadence's bodies ripped apart by those vicious changeling freaks.

Shining and Cadence trapped in a sick torture cell of Queen Chrysalis's dungeon.

Shining and Cadence clinging to life against an overwhelming sea of enemies before their exhausted bodies give out and then…

Twilight tried in vain to push the horrendous thoughts out of her mind. They came back each time. More vivid. More violent. More bloody.

_I need to distract myself._ Twilight thought. _Yes. That's it._ Something to take her mind off the horrible fate that had befallen her family. It was exactly what she needed.

And there was only one thing in this tiny room that could she could possibly focus her brain on long enough to forget. She faced her saddlebag, lying against the wall opposite of the bed, and activated her magic. A purple aura sprung from her horn, and reached into her bag. Out levitated a piece of parchment. It wasn't large. Just big enough to hold three stanzas of poetry. She took the red and blue painted scroll to the only other furnishing in the room. A small writing desk in the back corner.

Magically unrolling the scroll on that desk, Twilight's sanguine eyes poured over the words.

_A soul trapped by its owner_  
_A curse making the pony a loaner  
Magic where it does not belong  
Resulting in power far too strong._

This first stanza was Frostburn without a question. The ice-blue unicorn-turned-pegasus was more powerful than anypony Twilight had ever seen before. He held his own against Celestia, tore threw an army of changelings, and almost beat her. He would have beaten her, if she hadn't had a lot of help from her friends. The purple mare looked at the next two lines.

_Fire rages on the inside  
Ice will cover those who hide._

Fire and Ice. The two unstable magics that swirled through Frostburn in uncontrollable bursts. Twilight shuddered at the memory of the night not even a week ago when Frostburn's fire erupted throughout Ponyville. The last time Twilight had seen the town, it was scorched in almost every aspect of the word.

It was the ending of the second stanza that gave Twilight her first real mental challenge.

_A dark voice speaks out among other things,  
While the well of light has two springs._

Up until this point, the prophecy had been relatively straightforward. Now it suddenly detoured into a metaphor. Twilight silently cursed Amethyst the Seer – writer of this and many more prophecies – for being so dense as to comprise destiny into riddles.

A dark voice speaking was decidedly not good. But who could the voice be? And to whom was it speaking? Twilight thought about the changelings, their leader to be precise. Queen Chrysalis was an evil tyrant without a doubt. If it was probably her voice the prophecy referred to.

This train of thought was interrupted by the sound of a frantic hoof knocking against her door.

"Twi? Are ya in there?" Applejack's southern accent asked.

"Go away." The purple mare responded, her voice sounding more distressed than she preferred.

"Twilight, darling, everypony's so worried about you. Won't you come out?" Rarity's voice said from behind the door. Twilight cringed. Going out would mean talking. And talking would mean acknowledging Shining and Cadence's disappearance. She wasn't ready to do that just yet. It was better just to stay in her room where she could deny everything.

"Twilight, this can't be good for you." The voice of her number one assistant called out. "You've got to come out now, please." Spike had arrived in Canterlot just yesterday from Ponyville. It took a while to explain the situation to him, but he had been willing to help Twilight in any way he could, if it meant the war would end sooner. She just didn't want his help concerning this matter. She didn't want anypony's help.

"Just go away." Twilight said, on the verge of tears again. "I don't want to talk to any of you. Just leave me alone!" Her outburst was so forceful that silence permeated the other side of the door.

"Okay, Sugarcube. We're goin'." Two sets of hooves trotted off.

"Twilight," Spike said, lingering. "We're here for you. Anytime your ready to talk." Twilight offered no response. She was too choked up to say anything. Eventually, Spike left her in silence.

The refuge of silence gave Twilight an opportunity to calm down. She took several deep breaths, and then looked down again at the prophecy.

_"While the well of light has two springs."_ She read. Thoughts sprung up in her head instantly about what this could mean. To fill the void of silence, she talked about them to herself, though her mouth could not keep pace with her mind.

"Well of light." She said. "In this context I'm led to believe this means a source of light. Light generally has a good connotation with it, so that makes sense. What about the two springs, though? Wells and springs both deal with water, so in this, case by extension of the metaphor, light. Springs would then be a source of light. A source of goodness. And there are two of them. If that's the case…"

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

"Errgh." Twilight grumbled to herself, irritated that her train of thought had been interrupted again. "I said GO AWAY!" She screamed at the door. "I don't want to talk to anypony right now, alright? I'm fine! So leave me ALONE!"

"… Are you sure about that?" A familiar, almost motherly, voice asked. Twilight immediately recognized who it was she had yelled at.

Twilight bounded across her room and threw open the door with her magic. Standing on the other side was a white alicorn with a flowing mane.

Princess Celestia did not look happy, but she also wasn't angry either. Her face was creased with distraught and worry.

"P-Princess…" Twilight stammered. "I'm so sorry for yelling. I didn't know it was you. I…"

"It's all right, Twilight." Princess Celestia said. "I understand. I understand all to well."

The purple mare felt more tears well up in her eyes. Though she was thankful that Princess Celestia wasn't upset with her, Twilight still couldn't stop a flood of emotions that she been trying to surpress.

She sniffled as the first tear trailed down her face.

"I miss them so much already." Twilight sobbed. "I…I can't believe this happened."

Princess Celestia, in all her benevolent wisdom, knew exactly what to do. The white alicorn extend a hoof and brought Twilight in for an embrace. At first, Twilight was stunned. While her teacher often expressed how proud she was of the purple mare, physical affection was rare. It didn't matter, because Twilight instinctively returned the hug, and she began sobbing slightly more.

"And the worst part is, it's all _my_ fault!" Twilight whimpered into the princess's shoulder.

"There was nothing you could have done, Twilight." Celestia said.

"That's the point!" The lavender mare exclaimed. "I couldn't have done anything because I wasted all my energy on a cloaking spell that didn't work. It's my fault I couldn't do anything but lay around while everypony else did all the work. Dash, Frostburn, and Applejack risked their lives so we could get here. And what did I do? I passed out in the train." Twilight cried even harder now, the guilt adding onto her sadness. "And now I've lost my brother and my sister-in-law because of it."

Celestia gently patted Twilight's back as the purple unicorn heaved out more sobs. Finally, the princess spoke. "This is far from your fault, Twilight Sparkle. It is mine."

Twilight pulled her head back to look her at her teacher. She blinked once to clear away some of the water, "What?" She softly asked.

"I should have foreseen something like this happening." Celestia explained with a pained expression in her eyes. "I've read that prophecy a dozen times. Because I was unable to see the brewing war, the Crystal Empire and the ponies who live there suffered. The blame resides with me and me alone."

"But how could you have known that the changeling's would attack at that precise moment? It was impossible to foresee something like that. Even Pinkie didn't pick it up until too late." Twilight said, consoling her mentor.

Princess Celestia released Twilight from the hug, and bowed her head. "Whether I could have or not does not matter. It happened, and now… I may have lost my niece because of it." For a brief moment, Twilight feared that Celestia's eyes were tearing up. The Princess of the Sun choked back a sob and spoke again.

"We don't have any confirmation that Cadence and Shining Armor are dead. Until we do, there is still hope."

Twilight nodded in understanding, though her sadness was not assuaged much. Princess Celestia stepped backwards, out of the room.

"Will you be all right by yourself for the rest of the night?" The Princess asked.

Twilight swallowed back her tears and put on a brave face for her teacher. "I will, Princess." Then she added, "Thank you for checking on me. I was in a pretty bad state of mind before you came."

Celestia smiled a warm and reassuring smile. "Sleep well, Twilight."

"Goodnight, Princess." Twilight said as the door closed. The lavender unicorn turned back to the desk that held the prophecy. With her magic, Twilight rolled up the parchment and placed it neatly in her saddlebag. Then, she laid down on the soft mattress. After a few short minutes, Twilight was asleep, though not very soundly.

* * *

**Rarity**

"Do you guys think Twilight will be okay?" Spike asked, catching up to Applejack and Rarity.

"Ah don't know, Spike." Applejack said. Both mares slowed down to allow the dragon to walk along side them. "She's dealing with a lot of grief right now."

"She'll be fine." Rarity said. She meant it to be reassuring, but the tone of her voice made her seem unsure. "We should probably find everypony else and let them know the search is over."

Applejack nodded in agreement. Spike, on the other hoof, was glancing back nervously at the room Twilight was in.

"Spike?" She asked him. The purple dragon blinked in surprise and turned back to face her.

"Sorry." He said. "You're right, we should find everypony else."

When Twilight had run off devastated, everypony had gone after her as a single unit. The more they attempted to find her, the more separation seemed like a good idea, especially with Twilight teleporting off to a different section of the castle whenever anypony got near. As such, everypony had split up in order to increase the chances of finding and consoling the purple unicorn.

Rarity realized right away that Twilight would head off to a secluded location, and apparently Applejack and Spike also felt that way. The three of them had congregated outside Twilight's door, hoping they could all convince her to come out. The stark resistance they met was unexpected. Rarity didn't feel good being ousted from one of her friends like this, but Spike seemed to be taking it much more personally.

They found Pinkie Pie first. The party pony was definitely not in her usual jovial mood. It wasn't the immensely depressed state that Pinkie was known for falling into, instead the pink mare was just sad. Her cotton candy hair was partially deflated, which was never a good sign.

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash actually managed to find them first. They were both worried about Twilight, and neither Rarity nor Applejack could offer some consoling words to them. Everypony certainly seemed to give off an ambience of defeat, realizing that they had failed to help their friend in a time of need.

"Ya'll, Ah think it's best if we get some sleep. There ain't much more we can do tonight." Applejack suggested. Everypony nodded some agreement, though Rarity knew they all hated the idea of leaving Twilight to dwell on her feelings of grief.

"I can't believe this happened." Pinkie said as she slowly walked off to her room.

"Maybe things will get better tomorrow." Fluttershy softly said as she too slunk away.

Rainbow Dash said nothing as she hovered away. Her cyan head was hung in shame though, and Rarity could tell Rainbow felt horrible about what was happening.

Applejack also left wordlessly, and so it was just Spike and Rarity left in some random corridor of Canterlot Castle. Rarity glanced over at the dragon. He was looking at the floor dejectedly.

"Are you okay, Spike?" Rarity asked him. He looked up.

"I'll be fine Rarity." Spike said, putting on a brave face. "I know Twilight. She won't let this get her down forever."

Rarity smiled at his optimism, and wished him goodnight as he too left. Now the white unicorn stood alone in the hallway, with a vague feeling like she was forgetting something.

…Or somepony.

"Frostburn!" Rarity said with sudden realization. How could she have forgotten Frostburn?

The white unicorn began trotting through the castle at an urgent pace, unwilling to answer her own question.

_Where could he possibly be?_ Rarity thought to herself. In her quest to find her other friends, the white unicorn had searched most of the castle already. She made a mad dash through a nearby corridor, hoping to catch a glimpse of the fiery-haired pegasus. She didn't.

Rarity ran down a few more hallways, working up quite a sweat in the process. Finally, she stopped for a breath. A bead of sweat ran down her face as Rarity thought about what she should do. She simply had to find Frostburn, but the mysterious stallion seemed to have disappeared.

Telling herself to continue the search, Rarity trotted forward. Her pace slowed, the white unicorn began to look more carefully for Frostburn. Now that she wasn't frantically trying to find him, and actually examine each area of the castle, Rarity felt a little better about her chances of finding the ice-blue pegasus.

Eventually, her efforts were rewarded. Rarity had been glancing around, and saw Frostburn through one of the windows. He was sitting outside, on a balcony. He looked awfully lonely.

Rarity felt that it was her duty to redress his loneliness. She cantered over to the balcony, and slowly approached Frostburn. He didn't notice her when the white unicorn stepped outside. The pegasus was fairly lost in thought. Frostburn was also wearing a familiar gray cloak. Rarity remembered that garment. She was the pony who gave it to him. The white unicorn was touched that he was still using to keep himself warm.

She shivered, suddenly hyperaware of the freezing temperatures outside. Rarity heard her teeth chatter a bit. To her, the noise shattered through the still air of the night. Frostburn heard it too, and slowly turned his head to see who was behind him.

Rarity offered a meek grin as his eyes fell upon her. "Hello." She said.

"Hi." Frostburn said. "Did you find Twilight?"

"Yes, but uh… we did not manage to make her feel better." Rarity informed him. "What are you doing out here, darling?"

Frostburn smiled warmly. "Just thinking." He replied. Rarity took a slight step forward.

"About what?" She asked. Frostburn moved to give Rarity enough room to join him on the ledge. The white unicorn gratefully took the opportunity to get closer to the pegagsus.

"Just… how it's all my fault." Frostburn said.

"What's all your fault?" Rarity asked.

"The war. Shining Armor and Princess Cadence's disappearance. Everything." Frostburn exclaimed. He looked forlornly into the starry night.

"Frostburn," She said. "None of this was your fault."

"Yes it is." He argued. "The only reason the changelings went to the Crystal Empire was because they were after me."

"Who told you that?" Rarity asked.

"S– Nopony. I just… I just know it was my fault. It always is."

"You can't blame yourself for all of that." Rarity said. "Nopony is responsible for everything that transpired at the Crystal Empire."

"Nopony except me had the power to stop it." Frostburn solemnly replied.

"Frostburn…" Rarity began. What could she say though? Frostburn was placing sole blame for the tragedy on his own shoulders, for having a power he never wanted and couldn't control, that if he used might have done more harm than good. There wasn't much Rarity_ could_ say.

"The prophecy said I would be the one to either save or destroy Equestria." Frostburn said. "But I didn't save the Crystal Empire. I watched as it was destroyed and then ran away. How do I know I won't do the same thing when the time to choose comes?"

Rarity didn't have an answer for that. She was in a stunned silence for a moment. "I don't know what you'll do when the time comes." Rarity said. "But I do know that what happened at the Crystal Empire won't control your fate. The power you have doesn't determine that."

"I need a way to control that power." Frostburn said. "Only then can I be sure it won't control my fate."

Rarity couldn't think of what else to say, partially because she was too cold to continue talking. Her body was shivering frantically.

"You're freezing." Frostburn observed.

"What? N-no, don't be ridiculous. I'm f-fine, d-darling." Rarity stuttered the words with her chattering teeth. In response to her obvious discomfort, Frostburn removed his cloak and draped it around her.

While the cloak warmed her body, Rarity felt her face get warm for a completely different reason. The white unicorn smiled at the pegasus, and he smiled back.

"Better?" He asked.

Before replying, Rarity drew herself closer to Frostburn. "Now it is." She whispered. "Thank you." Frostburn's blue cheeks suddenly became redder than his mane.

"N-no problem." He said. Rarity could tell his stammering did not come from the low temperature.

"You know, everypony still has a lot of questions for you." Rarity told him. Shortly after arriving in the train station, Rainbow Dash told everypony how Frostburn was able to control his ice powers to stop the changelings. Naturally, he was barraged with questions. For the past few days, he had been dodging them pretty well.

"I figured." Frostburn replied. "But I don't know if I have any answers."

"You can at least try." Rarity said. "What happened on the top of that train?"

Frostburn's eyes suddenly grew very dim. "I… I killed a changeling." He whispered.

Rarity's eyes widened. "R-really?" She asked. He nodded.

"I didn't have to… I could have just pushed it off the train like all the rest. But the power took over Rarity. I… I didn't mean to do it." Frostburn closed his eyes. Rarity could tell that killing – even if it had been a changeling – was a bad subject for him.

"I believe you." She said.

Frostburn's eyes opened, but they did not look any less dim. "It wasn't just the changeling though. I've killed others. Ponies. Seven of them. But it wasn't me I swear. I never meant to hurt them, never wanted to. It just… took over." He hung his head low. "You must think I'm a monster." He said solemnly.

Rarity spoke softly. "Do you… regret their deaths?" She asked. He nodded, but didn't raise his head.

"Hardly a day goes by when I don't regret what I did to them." He said.

"Good." She said. He looked up at her quizzically. "The day you stop regretting is the day you become a monster." Rarity told him.

Frostburn's eyes looked to the ground, then into hers. Then, slowly, Frostburn wrapped his forelegs around Rarity and hugged her.

The white unicorn's eyes widened is surprise, then she hugged him back. The two of them shared the embrace for a good deal of time, before both coming to the same realization.

"It's late." Frostburn said first.

"We should probably get some sleep." Rarity responded immediately. They stayed in the embrace for a while longer, neither wanting to end it. Eventually, the two ponies broke away at the exact same time, and walked back into Canterlot Castle together.

* * *

**And that was the opening chapter for Frostburn 2. Few things I want to talk about, so bare with me if you can.**

**1. The Sombra and Chrysalis backstory has been posted under the name _Forbidden_. Update times will vary, but it shouldn't be longer than 3-4 chapters.**

**2. Updates for this story may or may not be on the weekly basis as _The Saga of Frostburn, _and that's because I'm trying to manage three stories at once. (yay!).**

**3. You may have noticed a change in the style of POVs. Instead of a single chapter having one pony's POV, now there are two. (Yes this will be a regular thing). Cut-away POVs will still likely be used, but infrequently.**

**4. Thanks to all my returning readers! And the new ones as well. I look forward to yet another epic adventure with you all!**

**In Bronyhood,**

**Fire Gazer the Alchemist**


	2. Army Strong

**Well this was a fun chapter to write. Good thing too. Life's been pretty inconsistent for me lately (I'll spare you the details) so it felt good to escape into the world of writing for a bit. Hope you all enjoy what I've managed to conjure up this time. And please don't forget to review!**

**Chapter Two – Army Strong**

* * *

**Rainbow Dash**

Sunlight crept through her window and fell onto her face early in the morning. Dash peeked open one eye, and rolled over to the other side of her bed. She was still too tired to wake up. Last night's spectacular failure to make Twilight feel better had left her with only a few hours to sleep. She was awake now, and there would be no changing that, but Rainbow didn't see anything wrong with just lying in bed for a little while.

A knocking on the door told the exact opposite was going to happen to her.

"Dashie, wake up!" Pinkie Pie's ecstatic early morning voice called out through her door. "The Princess wants all of us downstairs in a few minutes, and I think there's going to be waffles!"

Rainbow Dash couldn't help but grin at Pinkie's delighted attitude. The happiness rapidly declined as Dash soon remembered the events of the past few days. As the cyan pegasus pushed her heavy comforter off her body, she wondered to herself how Pinkie could keep such a positive mood almost all the time.

Before exiting her room, Dash glanced at herself in the mirror and noticed that her mane had been more or less attacked by her pillow last night. She took a moment to straighten it to its usual style.

This particular habit was one Dash had only just picked up. Normally, the cyan pegasus' hair would fall into place after a few minutes of flying. If she didn't get an opportunity to fly, normally she would just ignore it. Something recently had made that change.

Whatever it was, Dash didn't dote on it. She opened the door to the hallway to see a smiling pink face on the other side. Pinkie's excited energy was enough to get Dash to crack her first smile of the day.

"Glad you're up Dashie, let's go." Pinkie Pie said. The two of them started to walk down the hallway towards the dining area. "I'm pretty sure the waffles are going to have chocolate chips in them, though I'm not entirely to sure. I stopped by the kitchen earlier today to ask the chef, but he asked me to leave after I'd been talking to him for ten minutes and I'm not sure why. Anyways, they could be chocolate chip, or they could be blueberry. I'm not picky either way, but then again chocolate chip waffles are some of my most favorite-ist breakfast foods in the world…"

The party pony droned on as the two made their way throughout the castle. Dash didn't mind too much, but there was something she noticed. Pinkie's signature bouncey walk was absent this morning. It was a subtle nuance that most ponies would have missed, but Dash had known Pinkie for years. The pink mare, despite her happy demeanor, was still shaken up a little from last night. Rainbow didn't blame her.

It wasn't long before the two made it to the dining hall of Canterlot Castle. The dining hall was likely the second largest room in the entire castle, rivaled only by Celestia and Luna's throne room. The lengthy table in the center of the room stretched from end to end, and looked as though it could seat about a hundred ponies. This morning, however, it was only seating three.

Applejack, Fluttershy, Spike, and Rarity were all sitting down on the far end of the table. Each had a fair amount of breakfast food in front of them, including the waffles that Pinkie rumored about. A quick survey told Dash that Twilight and Frostburn were still missing.

"Hooray! They _do_ have waffles!" Pinkie joyously shouted. Three heads turned to see a pink blur barrel towards their end of the table.

The party pony immediately began helping herself to the large spread of food that was on the table. Rainbow Dash spread her wings and hovered over to join her friends. By the time she got there, Pinkie Pie had taken the lion's share of waffles.

"Wow, how great of Princess Celestia to include syrup too! Then again, what's a good waffle with some syrup? Boy, she certainly has a lot. Let's see, there's blueberry, hazelnut, pecan… OOoooooh! She has strawberry syrup too?! That's like the bestest kind!"

The pink mare did not cease chatting non-stop about the syrup selection, despite an attempt from Rarity to calm her down. Dash took a seat in between Fluttershy and Applejack. Leaning over to the orange farmer, she asked, "What exactly happened with Twilight last night?" The yellow pegasus besider her leaned in as well.

"She wouldn't even open her door." Applejack said.

"I feel awful about not being there for her." Spike said, joining the conversation. "We should have tried harder, or something."

"Spike, there weren't nothing we could do. We'll just hafta talk ta Twi whenever she makes it downstairs." Applejack replied.

"That may be sooner than you think." Fluttershy interjected. The yellow pegasus pointed with her hoof across the table.

Following the direction with her eyes, Dash saw a purple unicorn entering the room. Everypony became silent as Twilight slowly walked in. Even Pinkie silenced herself from discussing syrup flavors.

The bleary-eyed mare said nothing as she slowly walked the length of the table, levitated a plate with a single waffle, and sat down. She barely looked at her friends. She barely acknowledged them. And – as far as Dash could tell – She barely held back her tears.

"Umm… Twilight?" Fluttershy tentatively began. "Are you feeling any better?"

The purple mare's lips pressed together as she tightly shut her eyes and shook her head.

"Ya'll still need some time before ya wanna talk?" Applejack inquired. Twilight nodded.

Spike, who was closest to the lavender unicorn, put a claw on her shoulder and said, "It's okay Twilight, I… we understand. Take all the time you need." The purple unicorn put on a brave smile and nodded a little.

A weary looking ice-blue pegasus was next in the room. His presence was dully noted by each of the ponies, but only Rainbow Dash and Rarity partially turned some of their attention from Twilight to him. Frostburn seemed to have gotten the least amount of sleep out all of them. Either that, or he had not slept much since arriving in Canterlot. He quietly made his way to the table, taking an empty seat at the edge of the group next to Rarity. Silently, Dash resented this, but her slight animosity to Frostburn's seating choice was soon replaced by a new thought.

Rainbow realized that this was the first time they were all in the same spot since Pinkie's One Hundredth Party Bonanza. They had all silently drifted in two days, trying to make sense of what happened. Fluttershy seemed to vanish and reappear every few hours, never telling anypony where she had been. Pinkie had been cleaning the throne room by herself, insisting that she had to dig through the debris to find a few mementos of the epic party. Twilight spent some time in the library, at least until learning of the disappearances, and Spike had been with her for the most part. Applejack had really just been wandering aimlessly. Rainbow had been wandering too, but with more of a purpose. Both she and Rarity had been searching for Frostburn, who had been very reclusive in the past two days.

As for Rarity and Rainbow, they searched, but not together. Despite the reconciliation they had had in the Crystal Empire, they hadn't interacted much. It was an ambience of cold indifference whenever they did.

Now all eight of them were in the same room, Dash could only wonder what was about to happen.

Aside from a few awkward eye glances around the table, and a few stifled sniffles from Twilight… not much. It wasn't until the princesses arrived that things began to happen.

Celestia appeared in the room in a very underwhelming fashion. In fact, Dash didn't notice her arrival at first. The Princess of the Sun was flanked by her sister, and one or two royal advisors. The rest of the Mane Six, Spike, and Frostburn began to take notice of the coalition heading their way. Princess Celestia walked alongside the table parallel to Twilight, stopping just before she reached her student.

"Good morning, everypony." Princess Celestia said to the group.

"Good morning, Princess." Eight voices replied.

Silence.

"Have you tried the waffles yet?" Pinkie asked suddenly, mouth full of breakfast foods. "They taste a-maz-ing!"

Celestia smiled thoughtfully. "I'm sure they do." Her expression darkened slightly. "I assume you all are wondering why I've called you all here."

Several pairs of eyes focused on the white alicorn. Dash heard Pinkie swallow her waffles. The Princess spoke, though her words were more clearly meant for the mares in the room.

"I'll get straight to the point then." The Princess declared. "In these dire times of war, it's important that we do everything we can to end the fight before any civilians get hurt. Because you six wield the Elements of Harmony, weapons that have restored balance to Equestia many times already, I would like to ask that each of you travel to the front lines and lead the Elements into battle to defeat the changeling army."

The first pony to react was Pinkie, who began choking on her waffles. Whether it was from excitement or shock Dash couldn't tell. As Applejack help Pinkie recover, the rest of the Mane Six looked at the Princess in disbelief.

"You can't be serious!" Rarity almost screamed. Then she realized whom it was she was almost screaming at and calmed down.

Fluttershy's eyes widened in fear and discomfort. "Are… are you sure?" She squeaked out.

"I am quite sure." Celestia said. "You six have faced danger before and overcome it. Is defending Equestria from the changeling armies any different?"

Glances were exchanged between the ponies. "Well…" Twilight began. "We've never actually led an army into battle before."

"I understand that this is a lot to ask." Princess Celestia admitted as she surveyed the ponies of the group – namely Rarity and Fluttershy – who still looked unsure. "However, I give you my assurance that you will be safe."

"As safe as you can be on the front lines of a war." One of the advisors muttered. A quick glance from Celestia shut him up.

"And you won't be going alone." The Princess of the Sun continued. With that remark, the deep blue alicorn next to her stepped forward.

"I will be accompanying you into battle." Princess Luna said. More eyes widened. Dash had to admit that going into battle with nothing but a necklace shaped like a red lightning bolt was not too promising. However, having a goddess fight alongside them was an entirely different story.

"I realize how big a request I am asking each of you." Princess Celestia said. "But it is only a request. I will not force any of you into the front lines of this war against your will."

"I'm in." Twilight said, standing up. Spike looked at her with the most shock, unable to comprehend what just happened. Dash however, noticed that the solemn look in Twilight's eye had been replaced by something more defiant. It took her a second to process the purple unicorn's sudden change of attitude, but Dash understood. Twilight had an opportunity for revenge against the monsters that had taken her brother and sister-in-law. And she was going to take it.

"Ah'm in too." A southern accent that belonged to Applejack said.

"Me too." Dash said, her heart beating in excitement. She could see herself now on the battlefield, taking down changelings left and right. Adrenaline coursed through her just thinking about it.

"Let's do it!" Pinkie declared, before shoving another waffle in her mouth.

"… I suppose I'll be going as well." Rarity said. "Provided that I can make a more fashionable military uniform than what is currently offered." Dash got the feeling that the white unicorn was only half-joking.

There was only one mare that had yet to choose. Several pairs of eyes turned to Fluttershy, who was practically shaking from all the attention. It was clear the timid pegasus was not at all comfortable with going to war, or letting her friends down. Dash could only wonder which of Fluttershy's conflicting views would win out.

"I… I'll go." Fluttershy said, avoiding looking anypony in the eye.

"Excellent." Princess Celestia said. "And Frostburn…"

The red-haired pegasus – who had been watching the whole ordeal with an unreadable expression – glanced up at the white alicorn.

"I would like you to also be at the front lines." She said. Dash's heart skipped a beat. The cyan pegasus could hardly contain her excitement about going not only to the frontlines, but about having Frostburn at her side as well.

Frostburn, however, didn't share her thoughts. His irises shrunk to the size of a bit, before he said, "What?"

"I was hoping you would also be a part of the battle. Your power alone could…"

"NO!" Frostburn shouted. An icy silence permeated the room suddenly.

"I'm sorry." The Princess said confused. "But I've been led to believe you're in control of…"

"I'm not." Frostburn said.

"But… on the train…" Dash said. "You were able to control your ice powers. You saved me."

"I know what happened on the train." Frostburn said. "But my power is still unstable."

"Are you certain?" Princess Celestia asked. "Perhaps you simply haven't–"

"My power is still unstable." Frostburn said adamantly. "My answer is no." He stood up from his seat swiftly. Before Celestia, Luna, or even Dash could react, Frostburn firmly walked out of the dining room, slamming the door behind him.

It was quiet for a moment. Princess Celestia looked by far the most shocked, not used to having ponies speak to her that way.

"What in tar nation was that all about?" Applejack asked, speaking everypony's mind.

Rarity gingerly stood up. "Perhaps I should go talk to him." She said.

Dash reacted quickly. "I'll go." She said, already hovering.

"Oh don't worry, dearie." Rarity said. "I've got this one."

"No." Dash said through clenched teeth. "I've got it."

"Fer heaven's sakes!" Applejack said. "Both of ya go."

After a brief pause, both the cyan pegasus and the white unicorn both made a mad break for the door, pushing each other out of the way to get through.

* * *

**Shining Armor**

A splitting pain tore through his hind leg when a loose thorn bush reopened an already fresh wound. Despite gritting his teeth, the white unicorn could not suppress the grunt of pain that escape his mouth. His wife, Princess Cadence, gave him an empathic grimace. She had similar – if not worse – wounds of her own, and knew the pain he was feeling.

The dark brown Earth pony walking just ahead of them was not as understanding.

"Hurry up." Sergeant Swift Sword said. "We've got to put more distance between ourselves and the Empire by nightfall." The dark brown stallion did not have nearly as severe wounds as Shining Armor or Cadence. Aside from a grazing cut on his chest and a fresh set of bite marks covering his forelegs and back, the sergeant had suffered very little during the onslaught of the Crystal Empire.

Shining Armor bit his lip and said, "All right" in a very resentful tone. He hoisted Cadence's foreleg around his neck (for she couldn't walk without assistance) and tried to pick up his pace. He shouldn't speak to Swift Sword with resentment. After all, the sergeant had saved their lives when they came out of the Empire. Shining had collapsed from exhaustion and pain, and Swift Sword found him before the changeling search parties had. The brown pony had allowed them to rest for a day, before insisting they begin a trek through the Gemstone Forest to find help.

Even though the Gemstone Forest was relatively small – so small that it almost never appeared on any official Equestrian maps - the trio had a rough time going through it. Princess Cadence had severe injuries from the battle and could not walk for very long periods of time without needing rest. Shining's own wounds would have done the same, had it not been for his physical fitness, and resolve to keep pace with Swift Sword. But despite all of that, he would scarcely be able to move without using his spear as a walking stick.

The dark brown pony resumed walking, pausing only when he needed to use his sword to clear a path. Shining Armor moved forward too, but much more cautiously. His wife was wheezing heavily with each step. The white unicorn was no doctor, but he assumed that Cadence's broken rib had also punctured one of her lungs. She needed medical attention soon. Unfortunately there was none for miles.

"Swift." He said when the sergeant was beginning to get too far ahead. The brown stallion's head whipped around. "We've been hiking for hours. It's time for a break."

For a moment, he feared the sergeant would refuse, however his expression softened when he saw the weak and weary Cadence give him a pleading look.

"Fine." The Earth pony said, sheathing his sword. "You can rest. But no longer than a few minutes."

Shining Armor slowly unhooked his wife's hoof from around his neck and gently helped her to sit down. Breathing heavily, Shining also sat down, letting his spear lie on the dirt next to him. They avoided conversation, leaving the only sound to be a few straggling breaths and the buzzing of insects.

"How… could this… have happened?" Cadence asked. With each breath the distraught pink alicorn took, her voice came out raspier. It made Shining want to wince.

"I can think of one reason." Swift Sword said, voice grim. "You've probably heard of him. The outlaw known as Frostburn."

Shining Armor felt his eyebrow rise, despite the tear jerking pain it caused. "What makes you blame him?" He asked cautiously. Both he and Cadence knew Frostburn. The blue pegasus was an interesting case to say the least. But being the cause of the changeling invasion was not something Shining Armor considered a possibility.

Swift Sword's steely gray eyes glanced away temporarily. Then he spoke, "Before that outlaw showed up, the Crystal Empire was fine. Once he arrived, an entire army of changelings attacked. You fill in the rest."

Shining Armor narrowed his eyes. "You're certainly insinuating a lot, aren't you Sergeant?" He asked.

Sergeant Swift Sword returned the glare. "Just a hell of a coincidence if you ask me." The two stallions did not break from their intense gaze. The only sound that could be heard was the occasionally hoarse breath from Princess Cadence.

Then a twig snapped.

Shining and Swift reacted immediately. The white unicorn's spear was in his hoof and pointed to the sound of the noise. The Sergeant had redrawn his weapon. The two stood side to side, guarding over Princess Cadence. All animosity between the two had suddenly dissipated, as they waited tensely.

An annoyed hiss came from behind a tree, and slowly, three changelings emerged. They sized up the two stallions in front of them. The changeling standing in front grinned manically.

"Three of them. Two of us." Swift said. "I'm not liking these odds."

"One of me is worth three of them." Shining said, a determined glint in his eye. Swift Sword eyed the white unicorn's mangled leg.

"Even in your current state?" He asked. Shining gritted his teeth and did not reply.

"It's the princess." The shortest changeling spoke with recognition in his voice.

"And her husband." The burliest changeling added.

"Apprehend them." The lead changeling ordered.

"What about the brown one?" Short Changeling asked, meaning Swift Sword.

"Expendable." Lead Changeling replied.

They all rushed forward, their bodies becoming a gray blur. The Short Changeling and Burly Changeling went straight for Swift Sword, probably expecting an easy kill. The sergeant did not comply.

The brown stallion lived up to his name as his weapon leaped through the air, slicing open a wound on Short Changeling. A sharp kick sent it sprawling. Swift had little time to gloat over his victory before Burly Changeling launched several well-aimed strikes at once. Swift deflected a good deal of them with his sword, and that left only a few punches that glanced off his chest and sides.

Shining Armor had his hooves full with Lead Changeling. Clearly the more expert fighter of the three, Lead Changeling could deftly dodge the stabbing motions Shining made with his spear. He changed tactics, and swung the blunt end in a wide arc, hoping to catch the changeling off guard. The bug-beast – as blind as it was – heard the spear whistling through the air. It leaned back just enough for the spear to pass by harmless. Shining wasn't done yet, however. As soon as the changeling leaned back in, the white unicorn reversed the direction of his spear, and cracked the unexpecting changeling on the side of its head.

Lead reeled in pain for a moment, before retaliating. Its holed leg snapped forward, colliding with Shining's already weakened hindleg. He felt a painful snap, and fell to the ground. Lead Changeling stood over him, already gloating.

"One of you is worth three of us, huh?" It sarcastically repeated. The changeling prepared for a finishing blow. Before he could, a beam of light blue magic struck him across the head and sent him flying.

Shining turned his head to see Cadence just as a blue glow was fading from her horn. His eyes silently thanked her and inquired how she still had enough strength for that spell.

"Weak…" She croaked out in response. "…Not helpless."

Shining turned his head to see Swift, who was driving his sword through the neck of Burly Changeling. After the sick noise of the changeling drowning in its own blood, it died.

Swift Sword wiped the blood off his weapon in the forest brush. He turned his head to the royals. "Break's over." Was all he said.


	3. Under a Blood Red Sky

**Chapter Three – Under a Blood Red Sky**

* * *

**Spitfire**

Coordinating nearly eight thousand able-bodied pegasi to move an entire city across Equestria was not how Spitfire had planned to spend her vacation. It couldn't be further from. However, when you get an order from Princess Celestia of all ponies, you very well can't ignore it.

"Fleetfoot, get the downtown ponies to stop slacking off. We've got a city to move here!" Spitfire yelled.

Fleetfoot nodded and flew off in a blue blur. Spitfire took a moment to study the progress Cloudsdale had made. The floating city was traveling at a staggeringly slow pace through the sky. Even with an entire population of pegasi working to maneuver the massive cloud, they had barely covered twenty miles in the last half hour. That meant they still had yet to crest over the top of the Foal Mountains.

It was making the flame-orange pegasus very impatient.

"Soarin!" She yelled out. Two feet in front of her, a light blue pegasus in a Wonderbolt uniform turned around.

"Spitfire, I'm right here. You don't have to yell." He said, rubbing his ear.

"What's with the halted progress?" She asked, this time only in a loud voice, not a yell.

"Everypony's tired, Spitfire." Soarin responded. "You've been running them ragged since dawn."

"Of course I have." Spitfire said, her amber eyes narrowing. "We've got to get the entire city positioned between Canterlot and Neighagra Falls by lunchtime. Our orders come from the top, so there's no room for failure here."

"Which brings me to the other problem." Soarin said. "Nopony is motivated to move the entire city all of a sudden without knowing why. Didn't the Princess give you an explanation in the orders she sent?"

Spitfire thought back to very earlier this morning – or was it very late last night? – when the scroll baring the royal seal had flashed into her room. It had said specifically why the city needed to be moved, but the Princess had implored her to tell nopony why until the city had been relocated.

_There is no point in alarming anypony and causing a panic._ The elegant calligraphy of the Princess had said. _Once the city is in place, the pegasi will have a right to know why I've uprooted them, but until then it is important that you keep it a secret._

Spitfire had stuck by those words all morning, but her resolve was beginning to wither. Soarin and the other Wonderbolts had a right to know why this was happening. After all, she could trust them.

With a reluctant sigh, Spitfire looked directly at Soarin and bluntly said, "War's been declared, Soarin. The Princess needs us to be Canterlot's first line of defense."

"WHAT?!" Soarin shouted. All nearby pegasi turned confused head in their direction. Before Soarin could do anything else stupid, Spitfire clamped his mouth shut with her hoof.

"Don't mind him." She told the pegasi. "Just get a move on." Begrudgingly, the winged ponies returned to maneuvering Cloudsdale.

"Soarin." Spitfire hissed at him, safetly out of earshot of the other workers. "We can't sound the alarm just yet. The pegasi might go berserk, so this news has to be broken to them _gently._"

Soarin nodded, his green eyes portraying his understanding.

"I'm going to take my hoof off your mouth now." Spitfire said. "Promise me you won't scream again?" Soarin again nodded. Spitfire removed her hoof, allowing Soarin to speak.

"Has the Princess gone crazy?" He asked, quietly this time. "Why is Cloudsdale being put on the frontlines?"

"Because," Spitfire began, about to reiterate the words on the Princess' parchment. "Pegasi are warriors, we always have been."

"Yeah, in the Griffon-Pony Wars five hundred years ago." Soarin said, giving her an unnecessary history lesson. "But now – and no offense to any of us – we've kinda gotten a little lazy."

"I can whip them into shape." Spitfire said confidently. "And it's not like our lives are in danger for being put on the front lines. Cloudsdale was built to be a fortress during the war, and it still is. When we're inside the city, nothing's going to harm us."

Soarin gave a dubious look, but didn't offer any more complaints. He returned to the process of moving the city, as did Spitfire.

Even though Cloudsdale was basically a bunch of clouds, it was ironically heavy. The only way that it could be propelled forward is by the wind produced by thousands of pegasi flapping their wings. It was a difficult job for each pegasus, but arguably Spitfire had the most difficult job. As one of the best fliers in the city, she had fly back and forth to manage the whole project. It was up to her to steer the city, and make sure everypony kept an even pace, otherwise the city may hit a stray mountain top, or be sent in a wild direction.

Spitfire allowed herself to get lost in her overseer job for the moment, slowly tiring herself out. Over the next hour, she felt her wings slowly feel the strain of circumnavigating the entire city hundreds of times. To conserve some energy, the orange pegasus let Fleetfoot take the reigns temporarily. Spitfire found a small, fluffly cloud, and decided on a five-minute power nap.

It seemed the second she closed her eyes she suddenly found herself being shaken awake. Irritated, she opened one eye to see Fleetfoot. The silvery-haired pegasus had concern in her eyes.

"Spitfire, we've got a problem." Fleetfoot said.

"What." She grumbled, irritated yet slightly worried based on her comrade's tone.

Instead of telling Spitfire, Fleetfoot pointed off to the left to show her the problem. Spitfire followed the direction of her hoof until her line of sight caught something unusual on the horizon. Tiny gray and black specks… that were coming closer.

Adrenaline rocketed through Spitfire's body and she bolted upright. "Changelings." The captain of the Wonderbolts snarled. She glanced at Fleetfoot. "Alert the pegasi, these things will be on us any second now."

Fleetfoot nodded, and swooped down, screaming a cry to battle. Every pegasi who had been working to move the city suddenly turned their attention to the oncoming threat.

Spitfire looked again and saw the specks were now close enough that she could see the gnarled, ugly bodies of the changeling. They looked ready for a fight. Spitfire looked back at the eight thousand pegasi of Cloudsdale.

They did not look ready for a fight.

Hours spent moving a massive fortress of a city had taken a toll. The majority of the winged ponies were exhausted, and the rest were practically about to pass out. Spitfire knew they would not have enough time to get into the city and fortify themselves. She knew they would only have one chance of survival. And a very slim chance it was.

"Everypony… CHARGE!" She screamed boldly. In spite of their exhaustion, it seemed as though the pegasi also knew that this was their last chance. Unfortunately Soarin had been right when he said they weren't ready for battle.

Several charged straight into the fray, while others scattered and fled. A few tried unsuccessfully to enter the fortress city before getting cut down by the swarm. The unarmed, unprotected pegasi that chose to fight fell victim to the changelings as they sped forward. Fangs ripped into pony flesh, and bloodcurdling screams filled the skies. Fleetfoot rushed forward, and found herself bombarded on all sides by a flurry of kicks, punches, and bites.

Spitfire joined the fight herself, but she quickly saw it to be a losing battle.

She didn't surrender though, and to show her resolve to the changelings she bashed two of their heads together. Another one flew too close and she delivered a mid-air roundhouse kick to it's face. That was about the only hits she got.

A changeling attacked from behind, sinking his fanged teeth into the bone of her wing. Spitfire screamed in pain, and tried to swat it away. Before she could even bring her hoof around, another two changelings rammed into her from the front, once shattering her sternum and the other crushing her windpipe. Spitfire gaped but failed to breath in air as her vision went red. Unable to sustain flight any longer, the orange pegasus felt her body plunge to the ground.

The last thing her red vision saw was Soarin diving after her. Then everything went black.

* * *

**Frostburn**

He sprinted down the hall, almost knocking over a surprised looking guard in the process. Behind him, he heard a set of hooves trotting and a pair of wings flapping.

Frostburn didn't have to guess who they were.

"Frostburn, get back here!" Dash's angry yet passionate voice called out.

"Please darling, we only want to talk." Rarity pleaded. He grunted and ran faster.

"Well I don't want to talk." He turned his head to yell back. When he did so, Frostburn saw that only Rarity was pursuing him now. Rainbow Dash had disappeared.

The cyan pegasus wasn't missing for long, however. When Frostburn turned back around, he nearly crashed into Rainbow Dash before skidding to a stop.

"Is this going to be a regular thing with you?" Rainbow asked in an accusatory tone.

Frostburn turned his head to see if he could still get away, but a white mare blocked his path. He sighed.

"I don't want it to be Rainbow. Honestly, I don't. But running from my problems is just easier than facing them."

"You can't run away from everything, Frostburn." Dash said, her tone more gentle.

"Why not? I've been running my whole life." He replied. Frostburn sat down in defeat, not willing to try another escape. Rainbow Dash stopped hovering and moved closer to him. Rarity also moved in, but Frostburn noticed the two mares stayed starkly away from each other.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Rarity quietly asked.

"Not really." He said.

"Well too bad." Dash said, playfully punching his shoulder. "Cause I'm not leaving till you do."

Frostburn allowed himself a brief smile, but it faded away slowly. "Look, I… I can't go to war. I can't lead an army into battle. I certainly can't defeat the changelings with my power. And I don't want to."

Rainbow blinked a few times in confusion. "You mean you don't want to defend Equestria? You don't want to save everypony who lives here?"

"It's not that!" Frostburn said immediately. The last thing he wanted was for Rainbow to think of him as an unfeeling sociopath. The words to explain it were on the tip of his tongue, yet he couldn't quite reach them.

Rarity came to his aid by putting a hoof on his shoulder. "I think I know what the problem is." She whispered. "You don't want to kill again."

Frostburn looked gratefully at the white unicorn. "I can't kill again." He said.

"Are you talking about the changeling on the train?" Rainbow asked, oblivious to Frostburn and Rarity's conversation last night. "That was nothing Frost, it–"

"It wasn't just the changeling." Frostburn said, the burden on his heart about to be revealed for the second time in twenty-four hours. "Dash… I've killed ponies." He painfully whispered. "Seven others. They were all burned alive and it was all my fault."

The cyan pegasus stared at him, her pupils had shrunk. "Frost, I had no idea…"

"No idea that I'm such a horrible pony?" He filled in for her.

"No! I just…" Frostburn could see that Rainbow was searching for something to say, but couldn't find it. _She hates me now._ Frostburn thought. _She thinks I'm a monster… and she isn't wrong._

He stood up, causing both mares to back up.

"Frostburn?" Rarity inquired.

"Goodbye." Frostburn said softly, and ran off again. He didn't look back, but he didn't need to, knowing he wouldn't be followed this time.

Without anywhere to go, Frostburn found himself in the small guest bedroom he had been spending most of his time in since arriving. He sat there brooding for a long time.

"She didn't understand." Frostburn whispered to himself over and over. _It's not like I expected her to._ He thought to himself. _She knows you're a murderer now._

_But one pony understood._ Frostburn didn't know what his own thought meant for a moment. But then he recalled. Last night, Rarity had known exactly what to say. She had been so warm and comforting…

"Why is my life so bucking confusing." Frostburn asked the bed in front of him. It didn't respond. After all it was a bed, and beds tended to not speak even when spoken to. Without somepony to talk out his frustrations too, the red haired pegasus curled up on the bed, and touched the small stump on his forehead, hoping for some luck or guidance or something.

There was a knock on his door a second later. Frostburn sat upright immediately.

Had Rainbow Dash come after him? Or was it… Rarity?

Frostburn calmly walked to the door, but prepared himself for anything that could be on the otherside. Even so, he was honestly surprised to see a navy blue alicorn princess looking back at him when the door swung open.

"Hi…" he said. _Luna… her name is Luna… right?_ "Princess Luna."

"Hello Frostburn. I thought you would be here." The alicorn said.

"What do you want?" He asked cautiously. He had so far had very limited interaction with Princess Luna. Practically none. That left only one reason for her to possibly want to speak to him.

"I've come to discuss the possibility of you joining the army." Luna said.

"There is no possibility. Discussion over." Frostburn said, not caring that he was being rude the Princess of the Night. "I can't use my power for this war."

"You don't have to." Luna replied, catching him off guard. "If you are still not in control of your magic, that is fine. But I have a feeling that you will want to come to the frontlines anyway."

"Why?" He asked, genuinely confused.

"Think." Luna told him. "War is dangerous. Ponies on our side will most likely be dying everyday, especially those on the front lines. Who do you know who just volunteered to go there?"

Frostburn's eyes widened as he realized what Luna was saying. In recognition of this, Luna's voice softened. "I'm not saying you have to go, but they will both need and want you there."

"B-both of them?" Frostburn stuttered. After what he had just told Rainbow, he doubted she would want him anywhere near her for a long time.

"Frostburn, I spent a millennia in exile on a desolate rock thousands of miles in the void of space. Yet somehow, even I can see that both Rarity and Rainbow Dash like you. How in Equestria did you get so bad at reading mares?"

"Practice." He responded, realizing that Princess Luna was joking. She grinned at him. "But, Rainbow just learned some awful things about me, and it didn't look like she was taking it very well. I don't think she'll ever like me now, knowing that I–"

Princess Luna put her hoof up to stop him. "I don't need to know about your past." She said. "But I do know that whatever it was will not affect how Rainbow Dash feels about you. I've known that pegasus for quite some time. She's slow to warm up to somepony, but fiercely loyal to them when she does. Perhaps her loyalty has doubled when it comes to you."

Frostburn smiled, grateful for the Princess reassuring words. "Okay." He told her. "It looks like I'm going to war then."

Princess Luna gave him a rueful smile and said, "In that case, I hope I have not convinced you to make a choice you'll regret."

The Princess of the Night turned and walked away. She paused once to shout back to him "Make sure you pack your things. We are heading out at evening."

"Heading out to where?" He asked.

"Why, the Crystal Empire of course." Luna said before rounding a corner.

And just like that, Frostburn was alone again.

* * *

**Sorry that this chapter is like, a thousand words less than the previous one. Not a lot of ideas were going through my head. (I blame the headband for cutting off circulation to my brain.) Also, the next chapter might be even more delayed because I will have no time to write over the weekend. On the upside, the next chapter is going to be epic.**


	4. New Dark Ages

**Chapter Four – New Dark Ages**

* * *

**Fluttershy**

Four hours. That's how long she had. Just four hours.

Fluttershy trembled at that thought. It was such a short period of time. Too short. She couldn't be ready to go to war in four hours. She couldn't be ready to got to war in four years. How could her friends expect this from her?

A single tear escaped the yellow pegasus' eye. Two more followed. Fluttershy found herself sniffling as she cried. She couldn't help it… she was terrified.

She had been brave in the face of danger with her friends before, but war was… horrible. It was the single most awful, mortifying, disastrous thing that anypony could experience, and she was about to be put right in the middle of one.

The pink haired pegasus shook with fear. She was just thankful none of her friends were currently around to see her. Knowing they were causing her crippling fright would be counterproductive, and Fluttershy knew it. She had agreed to fight in the war and would not abandon her friends because she was feeling scared. Without her Element of Harmony, they may not be able to win.

At the thought of her Element, Fluttershy touched her hoof to the pink butterfly medallion around her neck. Princess Celestia had distributed them moments ago, before sending the each of the Mane Six off to prepare.

Fluttershy didn't have anything to prepare though. She wasn't going to research powerful attack spells like Twilight. She wasn't going to prime a party cannon like Pinkie. She wasn't going to create a camouflage outfit like Rarity. She wasn't going to exercise like Applejack. She wasn't going to warm up her flight muscles like Rainbow Dash. She wasn't... well, whatever Frostburn was doing she certainly wasn't doing it.

She had nothing to do and nopony to say goodbye to.

_Wait a moment…_ Fluttershy thought to herself, her muffled sobs slowly dying away. _He may not be a pony, but I do know who to say goodbye to._

Hoping to distract herself from paralyzing fear, Fluttershy left her room, and began following the route that she had become moderately familiar with over the last two days.

Eventually, the yellow pegasus found herself at the top of the old stairs that led to a nearly unused dungeon. She descended the steps, brushing aside a few abandoned cobwebs left by star spiders.

At the bottom of the steps she saw the amored white Earth pony who stood guard over the single prisoner of Canterlot Castle.

She silently nodded at him, and he responded by opening the door to the cells. That was all the interaction the two ever really had.

Smoking Dagger – the changeling prisoner – was sleeping when Fluttershy walked into the dungeon. That was abnormal. Every time the yellow pegasus visited him, he had been awake, and she had overheard some guards discussing how he never seemed to sleep. That fact that it was the middle of the day was only serving to add to the strangeness of it all.

_He must be faking._ Fluttershy thought to herself. Everytime she visited Smoking, he had always tried some sort of futile attempt to trick her into letting him escape. Already he had tried impersonating a guard, a helpless animal, and even Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy never fell for his tricks at least, and she was determined not to fall for whatever this one was.

"Hello, Smoking Dagger." She said. He didn't stir. "I'm not going to fall for it, Smoking." Fluttershy stated. "Stop trying to fool me already."

Smoking Dagger still didn't move. "Uh… Smoking?" Fluttershy tentatively asked. She tapped one of the metal bars of the changeling's cell, created a loud clang noise. Smoking Dagger finally started to move. The changeling made a soft yawning sound, rolled over, and stretched out his fore legs. His eyes opened and he looked around with his less than adequate vision.

"Fluttershy?" He asked.

"It's me." The yellow pegasus said. "Oh my… were you really sleeping?"

"Yes." Smoking said simply. He was an expert at short conversation.

"I'm sorry, I thought you were trying to trick me again." Fluttershy told him. He wearily shook his head. "I thought that changelings didn't need to sleep."

"Normally we don't." Smoking told her. "But I've been deprived of my main source of food for too long. I've begun sleeping just to conserve energy."

"I'm really sorry about that." Fluttershy told him. "I wish I could get you some love to feed off of but…"

"It's fine." Smoking told her. "I have been able to feed whenever you come here."

"Wait, what?" Fluttershy asked him. "How have I been feeding you?"

"Your happiness." Smoking explained. "It's very similar to love, but a much weaker form. In any case, I've been able to survive because of it." Smoking Dagger's face grew concerned.

"You're… not happy right now." He said. Fluttershy blinked in surprise.

"Oh… um… no. I'm not very happy." She replied.

"Why not?" Smoking Dagger asked. The yellow pegasus felt her eyes light up when he asked that.

_He's genuinely concerned about me? Am I actually getting through to him?_ She thought hopefully.

_No, he's just concerned about losing his food source._ Another part of her thought. Fluttershy then realized that she needed to answer his question.

"I… I volunteered to go to war." She said. It was Smoking Dagger's turn to blink in surprise.

"Against my kin." He said. Fluttershy nodded. "And you don't want to, do you?"

"I don't." Fluttershy said after a brief pause. "I know I have to, but I hate the idea of fighting and war. It's sounds so selfish of me, but I wish I could just stay here and avoid it all."

"I wish you could too." Smoking Dagger suddenly said. Fluttershy looked at him, surprised.

"Really?" She asked. The yellow pegasus swore she saw his bug-eyes dart off to the side before answering.

"Uh… yeah. I just don't want to lose my food source is all." He replied.

"Oh." Fluttershy said. "Oh, that's right! If I leave, you'll end up starving to death! That's a good enough reason for me to stay here, right?"

Smoking Dagger shook his head. "I doubt Princess Celestia would risk losing the war just to keep one miserable changeling alive. Especially since I haven't been cooperative with anypony since arriving."

Fluttershy's heart sunk. She was going to war after all. Tears formed at her eyes again, and threatened to release.

"Don't cry, Fluttershy." Smoking said, genuinely trying to console her. "It'll be okay."

Fluttershy shook her head. "No it won't!" She declared, practically shouting. "I'm going to go to the frontlines and be forced to kill and probably die or watch my friends be killed!" Tears flowed from her face, and Fluttershy couldn't stop them. She stood there sobbing in front of a very stunned Smoking Dagger.

"What if…" Smoking Dagger began. Fluttershy muffled her sobs to hear what he was about to say. "What if I come with you." The changeling said.

"What?" Fluttershy cautiously asked.

"If I came with you, I might be able to help. If anything, I can at least protect you." He said.

Sniffling, Fluttershy asked, "You would do that… for me?"

Again, Smoking Dagger's eyes darted away before answering. "Well, I do need somepony to feed off of. If you died I wouldn't survive."

Fluttershy took that reason as a show of compassion from him, despite his clear attempt to hide it. "I appreciate your offer." She said. "But… you can't come. You're a prisoner, whether I like it or not.

Smoking kicked at the bars confining him to the cell. "I know. But if you leave then I'm going to starve to death. And I… I don't want you to go to war alone."

"R-Really?" Fluttershy asked. Smoking Dagger looked surprised for having said that, and immediately did damage control.

"Well… war is clearly upsetting to you. If you're upset than no happiness. No happiness means no food for me. So yeah, I want to be there for you."

Fluttershy gave a small smile. Despite his best efforts to hide it, Smoking Dagger was warming up to her. But could she really trust him?

"If I let you out so you can come with us," Fluttershy said. "What's going to prevent you from leaving as soon as you can?"

"I won't be able to go very far from you." Smoking replied. "I'd pass out before too long."

Fluttershy thought about this. Having Smoking Dagger along might be good for her. They both would need each other on the war front, and it would be nice to have somepony to talk to that would understand her. But getting him there would mean breaking him out.

She glanced around, even though she already knew that there were no guards on the inside of the dungeon. "Okay." She whispered to him. Fluttershy turned around and kicked the lock on the cell in a similar manner to AJ when she was bucking apple trees.

The lock didn't snap at first, but a few more well placed – yet reserved – kicks managed to knock it free of the cell. Smoking Dagger slid the door open and walked out of his cell.

Immediately, Fluttershy worried she had made a mistake and feared what the changeling might do. Relief flooded her when he remained calm and didn't make any move to flee or attack her.

"Wait, how are you supposed to get passed the guard?" Fluttershy asked, suddenly remembering that important detail.

"Him?" Smoking Dagger asked. "He won't be a problem." In a flash of green light, Smoking Dagger vanished. Fluttershy was confused for a moment before she saw a spotted salamander on the floor in front of her.

"Is that… you?" She asked, tentatively poking at the reptile. As she did, the salamander's body shimmered, and for a moment Fluttershy saw the real Smoking Dagger.

"It's me." The voice of the changeling said. "Just doing a bit of illusion magic, but I can't hold it forever so can we please go?"

"Okay." Fluttershy said, and started for the door outside. From the corner of her eye she saw the illusion of the salamander scuttling along after her. She opened the door to leave, and saw the guard. He gave a look in her direction, and she shyly grinned. "All done." She said.

The guard seemed to believe nothing was out of the ordinary and allowed her to pass, not noticing the small salamander scurrying after her.

At the top of the steps, Fluttershy stopped and watched as the salamander version of Smoking Dagger caught up to her. Safely out sight from the guard, the changeling returned to his usual bug-like state.

"I can't believe I just did that." Fluttershy said, feeling an unusual mix of giddiness and fear.

"I honestly can't believe that you did that either." Smoking Dagger said.

"B-but now what?" Fluttershy asked. "You can't be seen walking around the castle."

"I'll put up another illusion and join the army." Smoking said. "As long as you're nearby there should be enough energy for me to do it." To demonstrate, Smoking Dagger preformed another illusory spell to take an equine form, only this one took much longer than his simple salamander spell. Fluttershy guessed this was because ponies were more complex.

Green swirls of light coated Smoking's body, slowly transforming it. When he finished, Smoking Dagger looked completely different, and it sort of took Fluttershy's breath away. Replacing the flat-headed changeling was an Earth pony stallion with a cream colored coat, mahogany hair, and soft blue eyes.

"What's the matter?" Smoking asked as Fluttershy stared speechless.

"I-I just didn't expect you to look so…" Fluttershy felt her face flush. "… handsome."

"Did I overdo it?" Smoking asked, genuinely concerned with his appearance and thankfully oblivious to Fluttershy's red cheeks. "Because I can pull back a little."

"Better not waste your energy." Fluttershy said, regaining her voice.

"Okay then." Smoking said. "I'll catch up with you later. Now's as good a time as any to assimilate myself into the army."

"Bye." Fluttershy whispered. Smoking Dagger nodded and took off down a corridor to presumably join the ranks. As she watched him go, the yellow pegasus couldn't help but wonder if she had made the right choice.

* * *

**Chrysalis**

It had been many years since Chrysalis had set hoof in the Crystal Empire, mainly because returning brought forth many bad memories. Even so, the Crystal Heart was providing enough positive energy to balance out her mood.

It was a shame that would end soon.

The changeling queen strolled through the abandoned streets with the stature of sompony who had somewhere to be. All the crystal ponies that used to live in the broken houses around her had been shuttled just outside the city in camps with only the bare necessities to survive. Those who had resisted were thrown in Sombra's dungeons with the surviving soldiers.

Halfway to her destination, Chrysalis halted. The two changeling guards who were on both sides of her paused as well.

"My Queen?" One inquired.

"Leave." She said simply. The one word command sunk in quickly, and the two guards turned around and walked away. Chrysalis waited for a moment to watch them go before resuming her path. She knew that in times of war it was best to keep her soldiers close by, but at the moment she preferred if no pony was around. It wasn't long before she reached the end of her walk.

The Crystal Heart remained in its original place, just as Chrysalis had left it a thousand years ago. Love radiated from its core and the changeling queen soaked up as much as possible.

She would need the energy for the headache that was about to come.

Turning away from the Crystal Heart, Chyrsalis saw her real destination. It was a parlor near the center of town that she had requested to meet Sombra in. She could already tell he was in there, and decided not to keep him waiting any longer.

Chrysalis walked through the remnants of what was once the shop's doorway. Sitting (or floating) at a table near the back was the shadowy mass of clouds the formed Sombra.

"I trust your trip here was pleasant." He asked in a mildly sardonic voice.

Taking a seat opposite of him Chrysalis said, "We had a run in, but it was handled."

"Care to inform me?" Sombra asked.

"Apparently Celestia had decided to move the city of Cloudsdale directly into our flight path." The changeling queen informed him. "To be brief, let's just say that one of the most impenetrable cities in Equestria is now no longer a problem."

"You tore it apart?" Sombra guessed.

"Hardly, the cities defenses were too great to penetrate. But the citizens were massacred. Without them, the bonds that holds the clouds together will fade. In a week, the great city of Cloudsdale will be nothing but empty sky."

Sombra grinned wickedly. "Excellent. That saves me the trouble of doing it later." He chuckled. It was a sound that made even Chrysalis shiver.

"And before you don't ask, my children all survived the battle." Chrysalis said.

"I wasn't going to ask." Sombra reassured her. "Because I knew your subjects would never have had a problem against the sniveling whelps that the pegasi have become." He chuckled again, unsettling. "Equestria's warriors indeed."

"Can we just shift the damned Crystal Heart and be done with this?" The changeling queen asked impatiently.

"Of course." Sombra said, he shadowy form rising. "But I do have one question." Chrysalis tilted her head slightly. "Why did I have to meet you here?" The dark king asked.

Chrysalis sighed inwardly. "I thought it would make you remember." She said. "I thought you would recognize _this_ of all places."

Sombra studied the look on her face, and then observed the building he was in. "I suppose I do, now that you've mentioned it." He looked Chrysalis dead in the eye. "Honestly, I don't see the point. Bringing up the past is not healthy for you Chrysalis. It's only going to be a distraction from our goal." He began to move towards the exit.

"You can't just ignore it!" Chrysalis screamed at him. His mass of shadows froze. "I remember everyday what happened to us, and there is nothing in this world I regret more. How do you not feel the same way? Don't you care at all?"

Sombra was silent for a moment. "I don't care." He said simply.

"So that's it then?" Chrysalis asked. "You don't care about what we had before? And I'm just supposed to accept that the stallion I–"

"Just stop." Sombra said, not even turning around. "Stop deluding yourself. We've got a war to fight and you can't be stuck in remembrance of what's our past." Leaving Chrysalis behind, Sombra half-walked, half-floated out of the ice cream parlor. The changeling queen realized her hopes to bring back the old Sombra were pointless. He was gone, replaced by a heinous creature. If she didn't have her children to think of, Chrysalis would have left then and there. But she needed the love that Sombra had promised them.

Chrysalis followed him outside and the two met up at the Crystal Heart. He was staring at it with focused hatred.

"Your subjects have gotten their fill of it, correct?" He asked. Chrysalis nodded. Actually, her subjects needed some more time to fully feed the positive effects of the Heart, but telling Sombra this would not dissuade his choice. "Very well then." He said. Sombra's eyes glowed from the effects of dark magic as the shift began.

Tendrils of darkness shot from Sombra's incorporeal body, each striking the blue Crystal Heart. The sparkling air around the artifact suddenly held a much more dramatic tone. Sombra's dark magic piled greater and greater, overwhelming the remnants of positive energies inside the Heart.

The Crystal Heart looked very different. Its shiny zeal was replaced as the dark coils of magic retreated back to Sombra's projection. It was black now, with a haze of hatred surrounding it. Chrysalis felt a shiver run up her spine as the fear and hatred Sombra poured into the Heart rapidly spread over all of Equestria.

Feeding her children would be very difficult now. All feelings of love and happiness would need to be rationed. As long as Sombra kept his end of the deal everything would be fine.

But Chrysalis was not reassured when she looked into the mad eyes of the king.

* * *

**I kinda rushed to get this one up, so please be a little forgiving of errors. That aside I hoped you guys liked this chapter (here's a hint, you can show me how much you liked it by reviewing the story, following it, or favoriting it.). Now I've got some news. Handling multiple stories is actually very difficult if you can believe it, so I've devised a new strategy. I'm going to take this one chapter at a time, one story at a time. It means that updates could be slower, but it will definitely destress me a little. Plus, the pace will pick up once _Forbidden _is finished.**

**Up next (because I have put it off for far too long) is a Shattered Glass chapter!**


	5. Red Dead Redemption

**Chapter Five – Red Dead Redemption**

* * *

**Princess Luna**

Turquoise eyes scanned the horizon, soaking in the serene landscape. Lush, fertile lands spanned far back into the distance, even further than one could see atop the balcony of Canterlot Castle. The blue alicorn who owned the turquoise eyes took a slow breath in, and exhaled.

It was the calm before the storm.

Luna was well aware of the devastations war would bring to Equestria. The lush, fertile land before her would soon be turned into a wasteland. If the prophecy was true, they could very well all be doomed.

It terrified her, the war not the prophecy. Prophecies could not be changed; the blue alicorn knew this from experience. In fact, attempting to change your destiny more often than not put you on the fast track to fulfilling it. War on the other hoof, was dangerous, unpredictable, and brutal. Nopony won when it came to war. They only ponies close to winning were those that got themselves as far away as fast as possible. But Luna was not one of those ponies. She'd volunteered to go headfirst into this war.

Because she had to.

"Sister?" Spoke a soft voice from behind her.

"Hello, Tia." Luna replied without turning around. The blue alicorn's eyes did not even waver from the vast expanse before her.

"All the soldiers we can spare have assembled in the Grand Hall. Twilight and her friends are also ready." Celestia told her.

Luna sighed. "Then it is time."

Princess Celestia took a few steps forwards to be right next to her sister. The white alicorn stared at Luna for a short time, until it became apparent that Luna would not look away.

"Did you want to give a rallying speech of some kind?" Celestia inquired innocently. Luna finally averted her gaze to her sister. "You know… to boost the moral of the troops?"

"They're about to go to war." Luna said bluntly. "I don't think anything will boost their moral." The blue alicorn began to walk off, resigned to finally leave the castle. "I know I'm not feeling particularly good about this."

"Then why did you volunteer?" Celestia asked, finally raising her voice. Luna stopped in her tracks, feeling her sister's eyes bore into her back. They were silent for a few seconds.

Shooting her sister a sideways glance, Luna said, "We're facing overwhelming odds. Having me at the frontlines is only sensible."

"Sensible?" Celestia asked bewildered. "You think risking your life is sensible?" The dark blue alicorn princess diverted her line of sight away from her sister. "Luna, I know we like to consider ourselves immortal, but we're not. The last time I tried facing the Queen of the Changelings, I lost… badly. You going without me is a horrible idea."

"DOST THOU DOUBT OUR STRENGTH?" Luna suddenly screamed, rage slipping her back to the archaic Royal Canterlot Voice of her youth. Her sister did not flinch or back down.

"I have never doubted you." Celestia responded in a much softer, yet still firm, voice. "But I don't understand you, Luna. I'm afraid you'll get mortally wound or worse. It terrifies me, especially since I don't even know why you feel so strongly about being on the frontlines."

Luna calmed down, seeing that her sister's concern for her was genuine. "I have my reasons, sister." She said, not meeting Celestia's eyes. "That will have to be good enough."

Luna turned away once again, this time determined to leave. She made it all of two steps before a bright flash of emerald light brought her sister right in front of her. Celestia's kind face had shifted to a scowl. Luna held her sister's stare, undaunted.

"That's not good enough, Luna." Celestia replied. "I need to know why you would put yourself in danger like this. If you don't, I'll have no choice but to prevent you from going to war."

"What?!" Luna replied, not expecting Tia to take that course of action. "You can't do that! You don't have the right."

"You won't step a single hoof in the Crystal Empire if I don't want you to." Celestia declared. "And you know I'm more than capable of having that happen."

Silence. Luna glared angrily at her sister, appalled that Tia would even try to hold her back when it came to this. Luna actually had a very good reason for wanting to fight in this war, but her sister… her sister would never understand it.

Luna sighed, unsure if Celestia had the power to stop her or not. Taking the chance that she would be too great a risk. The blue alicorn finally resigned herself to tell her sister.

"I need to fight in this war…" Luna said. "Because I need to redeem myself."

Celestia's scowl faded away, replaced by the face of a concerned and caring sister. "Luna… for what reason could you possibly be seeking redemption?"

"You ask that question like you don't know the answer." Luna said. Celestia blinked in apparent confusion. "Tia, it wasn't even a year ago that I… I…" Luna choked up before she could say it.

Celestia finally picked up on what her younger sister was talking about. "Luna… you don't need to redeem yourself because of what Nightmare Moon did. I have forgiven you. Twilight and her friends have forgiven you. Equestria has forgiven you."

"But I have not forgiven myself!" Luna shouted. Celestia's eyes widened. For once, her sister was caught off guard.

Luna rotated away from her the white alicorn, speaking much quieter. "I've tried a hundred ways to atone for my sins, but nothing has worked. Defending Equestria may be the only thing that will alleviate my guilt. That's why I have to fight in this war."

Luna did not turn back around to see her sister's reaction. Judging by the silence that followed, the Princess of the Night it was not a good one.

She was proven wrong when Celestia walked up next to her. "Luna," She began. "I… I had no idea you felt this way. And I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I never tried to help you through your guilt, and if you feel that fighting this war is what you need to do… then I won't stand in your way."

Luna stopped breathing when she heard that. For nearly a year, she had been wrestling with the burden of her conscious thinking nopony would understand. But now her sister – the pony she had doubted the most when it came to this – had just proved she was not alone.

Water welled up behind her eyes, and Luna brushed them away slowly. "Thank you, Tia." She said smiling.

Celestia smiled warmly at her younger sister. "I only wish–"

Both sisters suddenly froze. A chill ran along Luna's spine and her pupils shrunk into tiny specks. The Princess of the Night shivered, uncomfortable in her own skin all of a sudden. She was experiencing an emotion that almost foreign to her.

Fear.

"You felt it too." Celestia stated. Luna nodded. Both alicorns turned their heads to the direction of the Crystal Empire, which was too far off in the distance to see clearly.

"Chrysalis shifted the Crystal Heart." Luna realized, her pupils dilating.

"That shouldn't be possible." Celestia proclaimed. "For all her heinous abilities dark magic was never one of them." The white alicorn looked at her sister. "Do you still wish to go?"

Luna swallowed, quelling the surge of dismay that had been caused by the Crystal Heart. "I have to go now more than ever."

The white alicorn nodded, fully aware her sister was not going to be deterred. Luna moved away for the last time, finally able to walk off the balcony. Descending the stairs to meet up with her soldiers, Luna wrestled with the artificial fear that the Crystal Heart had created. It made her want to scream, turn around, and lock herself away in her room to never come out again.

The blue alicorn was tempted, but knew she couldn't. Queen Chrysalis was not about to get the better of her. She was going to fight in this war. She was going to lead an army into this war.

And she was going to win this war.

* * *

**Rainbow Dash**

The attack of fear that the cyan pegasus had felt hours ago had finally subsided. All of her friends had been together when it happened. A sudden, unexpected wave fell over all of them.

Applejack had frozen up, halfway through putting on her armor. Pinkie Pie, in mid-laughter, choked up and fell silent. Twilight was sent to the floor, weeping. Rarity hyperventilated. Spike curled up in the fetal position. Fluttershy had ironically been the least affected out of all of them. Her face had grown concerned and she shivered a bit, but the experience was nowhere near the extent the other's had faced.

Dash herself had shut her eyes tightly and shook violently. The nauseating sensation of fear had come out of nowhere, and paralyzed her thoughts. It felt like all of her worst inhibitions had been sliced open. Her old fear of preforming for the Young Flyer's competition, which she had thought she had vanquished. Her fear of being rejected from the Wonderbolts. Her fear that she would lose her friends.

Princess Luna had arrived not long after and explained to them what was going on. The Crystal Heart had been shifted, taking away the feeling of happiness that it usually spread and replaced it with despair.

It had been hard at first to press down the sensation of fear, but each member of the Mane Six had managed it. Now the last of the fear was fading as Dash marched just ahead of the main army.

Her armor was beginning to feel heavy after traveling with it all afternoon. She refused to admit it out loud, however. Princess Luna had made it clear that they all needed to keep the metal coverings on their bodies in case of surprise attacks. Stopping was also out of the question, because they needed to keep pace with Luna, who was apparently unaffected by the armor she wore. Dash suffered in silence.

The cyan pegasus looked behind her and saw the throng of soldiers not far away. They all kept the same stone-faced look, even after hours of arduous trekking through Equestria. One thing Dash took notice of was how few their numbers seemed. At least half the number that had traveled to the Crystal Empire to find Frostburn.

That wasn't very reassuring to Rainbow Dash. Even with all the soldiers that had gone to the Empire, they had been near helpless when the army attacked. Now they had even less, and were going up against the same threat.

She would be lying if she said that didn't worry her a little bit.

Still, this time around would be different. They had the Elements of Harmony _and_ the Princess of the Night. Instinctively, Dash touched the red lighting bolt necklace hugging her throat. It filled her with anticipation for the war.

Dash had never really considered herself a violent pony, but in the past week she had been exposed to more fighting than she had her entire life, and the cyan pegasus had learned something about herself in the process. She enjoyed fighting.

It was the thrill of combat, with her adrenaline kicking in, and all senses heightened that Rainbow loved. A feeling like that could only be rivaled by extreme flying. Which is why at first, she hadn't understood what Frostburn hated about it.

Frostburn. The cyan mare looked over at the blue stallion. He looked dejected, and weary. Probably not helping was a chatty Pinkie Pie, skipping next to him. The pink mare's bouncing motion made a loud clattering noise as it tossed her armor around. Frostburn's armor on the other hoof was practically silent has he walked in it. Dash also took notice of the fact that he chose to wear Earth pony armor, covering his wings.

_I have to talk to him._ Dash told herself. But what was she supposed to say? Frostburn told her one of his deepest and darkest secrets, and she had reacted poorly.

_Just letting him run off like that?_ Dash thought. _What was I thinking?_ The truth was, she hadn't been thinking. The pegasus had been shocked to hear that Frostburn had killed before, and even more shocked to learn that Rarity had already known that about him. Now she had to think very carefully about what she was going to say next.

Mustering the courage needed, she trotted over to him, just in time to hear Pinkie Pie finish talking.

"…and then he chomped really quickly on my hoof, but it didn't hurt or anything because he didn't have teeth yet, and that's why I named him Gummy!" Pinkie merrily said over the clattering of her armor.

"Nice story." Frostburn replied, though he was disfocused with the arrival of Rainbow.

"Hey Pinkie." Dash began. "Can you give us a minute?"

"Okie Dokie Lokie!" The pink mare responded, and proceeded to hop away. Rainbow Dash waited until the clanking of her armor had fully faded.

"Frost," She prodded gently. His head turned so he could see her. His gold-colored helmet covered most of his face, but Dash could still see his eyes. They looked pained.

"What?" He asked.

"I… I've got to apologize to you." Rainbow said. Frostburn's expression told her that was the last thing he expected, and she continued. "When you told me that you'd killed ponies before… I sort of just froze up. I should have done something… anything else, but I didn't. I'm sorry."

Frostburn sighed. "It's not what you did Dash, it's… I thought you hated me."

"What?" Dash asked. "You thought I… Frost of course I don't hate you."

The blue pegasus smiled, a great weight lifted off his shoulders. "…Thanks. I needed that." He faced the trail in front of them. "I shouldn't have doubted you, Rainbow."

"Darn right you shouldn't have." Dash joked. Frostburn cracked a grin, and Dash smiled back. It was fleeting though, because Frostburn soon reverted to his previous melancholy mood.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Dash asked him. Frostburn looked grateful that she brought the topic up, but reluctant.

"Not now. I really don't think I'm ready to relive it all." The blue pegasus said. "But I would like to talk about you."

"Me?" Dash asked, curious.

"Uh… yeah." Frostburn said, the coverings of his helmet hinting a slight blush. "Even after all we've been through… I feel like I don't know you all that well."

Dash realized he was right. Despite going on a life altering adventure with Frostburn, the two never really had a moment to stop and get to know each other. Dash knew some of Frostburn's past, but that was it.

To make up for lost time, Dash began telling Frostburn about herself. What life was like in Cloudsdale, moving to Ponyville, meeting the rest of the Mane Six. The cyan pegasus took great detail into describing their exploits. She took great pride whenever she recounted their feats of heroism and reveled in the awed look the stallion got when she told them. She smiled at fondly remembered moments, and laughed along with Frostburn when she retold times that had been fun to live through. He had one of the happiest laughs she had ever heard, and Dash resolved to hear it more often.

After melting away the last few hours with Frostburn, the cyan pegasus suddenly remembered something she had been meaning to discuss for days. "Hey, now that we're speaking to each other again, I have a question to ask you." Rainbow Dash said.

"What is it?" Frostburn asked, suspicious.

"On the train, when you saved me… how did you control your powers?"

Frostburn's face fell a little. "I… I don't know if I can answer that question, Dash."

"Why not?" Dash asked, confused.

"It's uh… very complicated." Frostburn replied nervously.

Dash narrowed her eyes. Immediately, she could tell the red-haired stallion was keeping something from her. Frostburn nervously looked around, beads of sweat forming behind his helmet. Rainbow Dash was about to inquire further, when suddenly it seemed the entire army had stopped dead in its tracks.

Casting her gaze to the Princess, Dash grew worried. Luna had halted towards the peak of a nearby hill and was gazing beyond it. Dash unfurled her wings, and began hovering over to the Princess of the Night. The rest of the Mane Six, Spike, and Frostburn followed her, each curious to see what was making Luna pause.

Dash's eyes widened in horror as she crested over the hilltop, touching the ground just next to the Princess of the Night. Her friends reached the top of the hill shortly, and reacted more or less the same way.

The fields in front of them were strewn with the dead bodies of hundred – likely thousands – of ponies. Dash stopped breathing as she took in the horrifying amount of carnage in front of her. Gory, maimed bodies of what she could now tell were pegasi were scattered in the dirt. They had all fallen from the air, as far as the cyan pegasus could tell, the impact of the ground shattering bones and creating massive blood splatters. Some pegasi had bones jutting from their bodies, while other's had their throats ripped out. The scene was more brutal than anything Dash could have ever imagined. She looked up to see the empty city of Cloudsdale sitting above their heads, and found the cloud fortress to appear much smaller than she remembered.

Her eyes were finally torn away from the sight when she heard the heaving sounds of Fluttershy throwing up. The rest of her friends looked to be on the brink of the same. Twilight turned to Luna, mouth agape.

"P-princess… do you know what happened here?" The purple unicorn asked, barely able to form a sentence.

The dark blue alicorn solemnly looked at Twilight and everypony else. "It appears to have been a changeling attack." She stated.

"But how?" Dash asked her voice cracking. "Cloudsdale isn't supposed to be anywhere near here! The city was all the way across Equestria last time I checked."

Luna took a deep breath before answering. "Princess Celestia ordered the city to be moved in preparation for war." The dark alicorn glanced back at the massacre as that news sunk in. "It must have been attacked before we arrived."

"She… what?" The cyan pegasus said, mortified. Dash felt her blood boil. Cloudsdale, her hometown, had just been slaughtered, and it happened because of Celestia's orders.

Rage began to spill over as Dash screamed. "What was she thinking?!"

Her friends back up in surprise of the outburst. Luna did not. "I am sure my sister had no idea this would happen." The Princess of the Night assured her.

Rainbow still had a lot of directionless fury, unfortunately. She knew Luna was right, there was no way Princess Celestia would have moved Cloudsdale if she had any idea this would be the result. The logic behind that didn't help, and left Dash seething with anger.

Frostburn in front of her, worried. "Rainbow, are you okay?" He asked slowly.

Dash looked from Frostburn, to her friends, to the carnage behind them. Choking back another hate-filled scream the cyan pegasus realized something. She wasn't as angry as she thought she was; she was sad.

Tears sprang to her face suddenly, Dash unable to stop them. Her hometown, slaughtered, everypony she had known growing up might be dead right now. Neighbors, classmates, oh buck! Could her parents be among the dead?

Frostburn immediately took notice and moved to comfort Dash. The stallion wrapped both forelegs around her, and she latched onto him as the first of the sobs broke out.

Her friends all stood back in a mix of shock and awkwardness. Amidst her sniffling, Dash could hear the conversation they were having.

"Spike, I need you to write a letter to Princess Celestia to inform her of the situation." Twilight's voice said.

"Okay Twilight" The dragon's shaky voice responded.

"We'll need to search for any survivors." Princess Luna said. "Applejack, can you round up a few search teams?"

"Right away Princess." The orange mare began to walk off.

Rainbow finally grabbed a hold of herself and stopped crying long enough to speak. "W-We have to bury the dead too." She said. AJ stopped walking away for a moment. Spike looked up from his quill and parchment.

Princess Luna gave her a somber look. "I don't think we will be able to, Rainbow Dash. It won't be time efficient and we certainly don't have enough ponies to accomplish it."

Frostburn moved out of her way so she could reply. "Princess, we need to bury the dead. We owe them that much. And if you disagree, then fine. I'll dig every last one of them if I have too." Dash spoke with a growing determination in her voice, though the threat of sobbing was still present.

"I'll help you." Frostburn said, stepping forward with a genuine expression on his face. Dash looked to her friends, and saw their expressions change slowly as they empathized with her plight.

"We hafta do this, Princess." Applejack said, taking Rainbow's side.

"I agree." Twilight said, with Spike right behind her. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity showed their consent with firm faces and matching nods.

Luna looked at each Element of Harmony, Spike, and Frostburn, before finally ending on Rainbow Dash. The cyan pegasus had bloodshot eyes and tear remants on her face, but nevertheless gave a look that showed she wasn't about to back down. It was tense for a moment.

Finally, Luna nodded her consent. "I will alert the soldiers that it will be a long night." She said. Each member of the Mane Six breathed in relief. Dash looked back at the sea of bodies, emotions whirling like a torrent inside of her. She hoped burying them would bring her peace.

* * *

**Oh thank Celestia I finally got this damn chapter finished. Having writer's block is _never_ fun, but at least I can safely say I conquered the fifth chapter. Next week will be _Shattered Glass_ chapter 15, so be sure to check that out. And thanks for all the favorites, follows, and reviews everypony; keep them coming!**


	6. Poo-Tee-Weet

**Chapter Six – Poo-Tee-Weet**

* * *

**Rarity**

Rarity mustered all the grace she could as she wearily sauntered over to her assigned tent. It had been four hours since Luna had raised the moon, but only ten minutes since the very same princess had allowed everypony to break for the night.

The endless task of digging was ever present in the white unicorn's mind. She had been selected to help with one of the large ditches that would act as a mass grave for the thousands of dead Cloudsdale residents. Her muscles burned at the memory, but they weren't the only sign that she had spent the day in the dirt. Her usually styled mane was caked with mud, and her hooves were chipped and messy. The rest of her white coat had been spared simply because of her heavy armor had suffered the blows of filth for her. Unfortunately, it only added to her burden as she nearly collapsed in front of her tent.

Pushing the flap open, Rarity ignited her horn in a blue aura and began unlatching the heavy, cumbersome armor. The straps that bound her to the metal gear fumbled; her magic was sloppy and ill formed, having been just as taxed as her muscles from all the work. Grunting in defeat, she canceled the spell and forcibly ripped off the armor with her hooves. The various bits of chain mail poked into her coat as she did, eliciting a few grunts from the white unicorn. The only thing she bothered to leave on was her Element, the purple diamond having escaped all of the evening's dirt.

She did allow her meticulous nature to get the better of her when she set the metal coverings off to the side. Her tent had barely any room, and most of it was covered by a ratty looking mat she assumed was meant for her to sleep on. Rarity was honestly too tired to care as she laid herself down.

The white unicorn was about to close her eyes when she saw a soft glow through the diaphanous sheets of her tent. It was followed by the low chattering of familiar voices.

_What are they still doing up?_ Rarity thought to herself. As exhausted as she was, the curious mare pushed herself up and went outside to investigate.

By the light of a small fire, Rarity saw the majority of her friends huddled together, seemingly in deep conversation. The white mare approached cautiously, not quite wanting to interrupt what it was they were saying.

"… did ya see the way she reacted ta the mass graves idea?" Came Applejack's southern accent.

"I honestly thought she was going to attack Princess Luna." Twilight responded.

"Maybe we should have… um… supported her, just a little bit, when the Princess said no." Fluttershy meekly contributed.

Only a few yards away now, she noticed that all of her friends except Spike and Rainbow Dash were present around the campfire. Spike, being a baby dragon and likely overworked form the events of the day, was probably already asleep, but the white unicorn had no idea where Rainbow could be. Rarity cringed as the sudden snap of a loose twig made all her friends turn to look at her. The white unicorn felt blood surge under her cheeks with embarrassment at being caught eavesdropping.

"Hiya Rarity!" Pinkie Pie spouted out, her usual chipper voice lacking enthusiasm. Rarity also took note that the party pony's hair was deflated a little, likely due to the fact that they had all been handling dead bodies since noon. Not even Pinkie could keep a happy spirit after that.

"Umm, hello everypony." Rarity said after clearing her throat. "I hope I'm not interrupting…"

"You're fine." Frostburn said, giving a weary smile in her direction. "Care to join us?" The blue stallion indicated an empty spot on the ground right next to him.

"Thank you, darling." She accepted. The white mare made her way around the circle and huddled up in the space near Frostburn, making sure that she was close enough to just brush up against the stallion's coat. "So, who were you talking about before I arrived?"

A few of her friend's gazes were directed away from her while others began twiddling with their hooves. Applejack was the first to acknowledge the truth. "It was Rainbow." The orange farmer admitted. The other's nodded, a little uncomfortable about gossiping behind the cyan pegasus's back.

"Because she…" Rarity trailed off, not needing to fill in the answer. They all still had it fresh in their minds.

Princess Luna, in an attempt to make the job of grave digging a little easier on the soldiers, decreed that they would construct a series of mass graves to bury the dead. When Rainbow Dash heard that, she flew right up into the face of the Princess of the Night, demanding each individual pegasus get their own grave. It devolved into a one-sided shouting match from there, with the dark alicorn adamantly sticking to her choice and Rainbow Dash not compromising. Everypony feared the hot-headed pegasus would have attacked Luna had Applejack and Twilight not dragged her off and calmed her down.

"She was acting pretty crazy." Twilight said somberly. This was met with a chorus of nods from most. The white unicorn furrowed her brow, confused as to why her friends would agree.

"Well, what do you all think?" Rarity asked. Glances were exchanged. "Should we have dug mass graves?"

"Uhmm, well... I guess." Fluttershy managed.

"I-It is more efficient." Twilight offered. Clearly the purple mare wanted to take Rainbow's side but logically couldn't.

"Ah guess we didn't have much of a choice." Applejack responded, while proceeding to push her brown hat down to cover part of her face.

"It's just… so sad." Pinkie dejectedly said staring at the ground. Fluttershy offered a kind hoof on the party pony's shoulder. "I knew coming to war wouldn't be fun… but I just thought the changelings would fight fair you know? Maybe we wouldn't even have to fight at all. Maybe I could have just thrown one huge party and everypony could forget why we even started fighting in the first place."

"War doesn't work like that." Twilight said dismal, failing hopelessly to console the pink mare.

"I know." The Element of Laughter responded with tears in her eyes.

"It's not your fault you couldn't throw that party." Fluttershy said, doing a better job than the purple unicorn. "This massacre happened before we even got here."

"We should have dug the graves." Frostburn suddenly spoke up. Five heads swiveled to face him. His eyes stared deeply into their little campfire as he spoke. "It's only right. Everypony gets a grave when they die, why should these pegasi be any different?"

"But Frostburn," Twilight started. "There are thousands of them, it's unreasonable–"

"No. Death is unreasonable." He replied. Rarity gently set her head against his shoulder. Though she wasn't a mind reader, the white unicorn had no doubts that Frostburn was mulling over the deaths that had been his fault. She wished there was a way to comfort him.

There was silence after that. Rarity assumed her friends were digesting everything they had just heard. Twilight looked exhausted, dark circles from lack of sleep rallied below her eyes. First dealing with missing family members, and now the slaughter they had just seen; Rarity could only imagine the nightmares the purple unicorn was facing. Applejack was doing her best to keep it together, but wasn't succeeding. Fluttershy looked in deep thought, but Rarity could only guess what the yellow pegasus would be thinking about. Pinkie Pie was… flat-maned.

"Room for one more?" A voice asked. Six heads snapped to attention to see Rainbow Dash ambling towards them.

"Of course." Twilight replied.

"You can take my spot." Fluttershy whispered. "I have somep– something to check up on anyways." The butter cream mare stood up to make room between herself and Frostburn, and spot that Dash filled quickly. Rarity instinctively buried her head into the blue stallion's neck just a little more, and felt blood rise beneath his cheeks.

Fluttershy waved good-bye, causing a collective curiousity to sweep silently through the group. No pony capitalized on it as the shy mare disappeared into the night.

"What were ya up to, Rainbow?" Applejack asked. "The days work ended a while ago."

"I was…" Rainbow trailed off as her head turned to the vast field where hundreds of unseen bodies still laid. She sighed. "I was looking to see if my parent's were… among the dead."

"Oh." Applejack replied, rueful for even bringing up the topic. It was an eerie silence after that. "Were they?"

If Rarity had been close enough, she would have smacked the farmer for her insensitive bluntness. Of all the things she could have possible asked Rainbow Dash!

"They weren't." Was Dash's curt reply. "I think they were supposed to be traveling this week. Dad always wanted to see Las Pegasus."

"Well that's a relief. It's awful when ya don't know if yer loved one are okay or not."

Rarity almost did smack the orange farmer that time. It would have been futile, and judging by the cringe that came from Applejack, the Earth pony had just realized what she'd said. Twilight Sparkle looked on the brink of tears.

"Oh gosh Twi, Ah didn't–"

"I'm going to bed." Twilight attempted to say in a firm manner, but her shaky voice betrayed her. The purple mare stood and galloped away. Applejack immediately got up.

"Twilight wait! Ah'm sorry!" The orange farmer shouted, cantering after her. A flash of purple light in the distance let Rarity and everypony else know the Twilight had teleported away, likely to her tent. Applejack came back, head lowered.

"Ah'm an idiot." She muttered. Pinkie Pie stood up by the orange mare.

"Don't feel bad. Twilights just in a bad place right now. We all are."

Applejack shut her eyes, and pressed her lips together. "Ah should probably go ta sleep too."

"We all should." Frostburn admitted, moving to get up. Rarity almost wanted to stop him, hoping to just lie next to him for a few more minutes. She didn't, and resigned to standing as well.

"Aren't you going to sleep too, Rainbow?" Rarity asked the cyan pegasus.

"No… I'm just going to sit here… for a while." Was the response. The white unicorn silently nodded, and trotted to catch up to Frostburn in order to have somepony to walk with back to her tent.

Rarity focused, and used some of her remaining energy to form a beam of blue light from her horn so the two of them could see.

"I'm assuming it's not normally like this when you all hang out." Frostburn said with uneasy sarcasm.

"No, it isn't." Rarity said. "I mean, I expected things to take a slightly darker tone since we're on the battlefield, but that was… really bad actually." Frostburn shot her an inquisitive glance. Rarity elaborated. "No pony was their self. I mean, we were talking about Rainbow behind her back. We've never done something like that before. Pinkie was depressed, Fluttershy was… evasive. Applejack was really insensitive and Twilight…"

"Yeah, that was pretty dysfunctional." Frostburn said. "You don't think it had anything to do with me, do you?"

"What?" Rarity asked, shocked. "No! You haven't hurt the group just by being there. In fact… I rather liked having you as a part of our late night campfire session." Both exchanged blushes, but Rarity quickly returned to the topic at hoof. "I think it's this stupid war. It was a mistake to come here. We should have declined the second Celestia offered."

"Well, we're here now. Not much we can do to change it." Frostburn said. Rarity stopped as they reached her tent.

"Except win." She replied. Frostburn nodded.

"Except win." He agreed.

They said their goodnights and Rarity ducked inside the tent. She curled up into a sleeping position quickly, but actual slumber eluded her for much longer. The white unicorn mare was uneasy about what was happening to her friends and where it would all lead. Eventually, she fell asleep from pure exhaustion.

* * *

**Fluttershy**

The cold night air bit into her coat as she stumbled in the dark. Her hooves moved surreptitiously over the plains grass, making soft crunching noises as she moved.

The yellow pegasus knew he was around here somewhere, he'd promised to meet up with her in this area. She scanned the horizon, the bitter darkness broken only by the moon and a handful of stars, and they were mostly covered by the cloud fortress above her.

Cloudsdale had been shrinking rapidly, and Fluttershy knew why. A city built using clouds was only stable if it had a constant flurry of pegasi on it, their natural internalized magic keeping the bonds between the white, fluffy patches sky from breaking. There weren't enough pegasi in the army to keep the steady constant for the city, and even if there were, they wouldn't be around for much longer. Princess Luna planned to move out as soon the last body was in the ground.

The last thought made Fluttershy shudder. She had handled many dead pegasi today, and it felt like each time she set one in the ground, a little bit of her soul had gone with them. The shy mare seriously doubted she would be able to offer Smoking Dagger any happiness tonight, but she had to try.

"Fluttershy!" A muffled whisper called out to her. She "eeped" in surprise, but calmed down upon realizing who it was.

"It's just me." Smoking Dagger whispered, appearing from behind her. The changeling was still in his disguised form – a snow white stallion with rich brown hair and eyes as clear blue as the sky. Fluttershy felt her tiny heart beat a little faster just being around him and she wasn't entirely sure why.

"H-hi Smoking." She said softly.

"Are you okay?" He immediately asked, eyes lighting up in concern when he notice how much she was shaking.

_Is he legitimately showing concern for me, or just worried about his food source?_

"I'm just, kind of scared." She whispered. "After today, with the massacre and everything."

"It was fairly gory." Smoking Dagger admitted. "I'm surprised Chrysalis ordered such an assault."

"Really?" Fluttershy asked. Smoking raised an eyebrow at her. "I mean, it is a war, wouldn't that seem normal?"

"Changelings aren't warriors, Fluttershy." Smoking said. "Most of us hate the idea of fighting as much as ponies."

"Sorry, I didn't know." Fluttershy said. Smoking Dagger seemed to brush off her apology, and instead closed his eyes. He stayed silent for quite some time. Eventually, Fluttershy felt curiosity overcome her.

"W-what are you doing?" She asked.

"Feeding." Came his curt response.

"Oh, okay. I just didn't think there would be a lot of happiness for you tonight." Fluttershy admitted. Smoking Dagger opened his eyes, the deep blue piecing into hers.

"There wasn't much." He replied. "But it's better than starving." Fluttershy smiled awkwardly, unsure if Smoking was making a joke or not.

"I'm sorry I couldn't give you more." She said. Smoking Dagger looked at the ground unsurely, and then back to Fluttershy.

"In a way, I suppose you did." The changeling replied, but then gave an immediate look that told Fluttershy he hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"W-what do you mean?" She asked cautiously.

"It wasn't… just happiness I managed to feed off you." He said, acting as though he was confessing to a crime.

"What?" Fluttershy asked. "But what else was there? I didn't think you could feed off things like sadness and depression."

"No, no. It wasn't that." Smoking Dagger bit the inside of his cheeks, and Fluttershy sensed she would have to drag the information out of him. _Time to be assertive… I suppose._

"Tell me." She said firmly. The white stallion in front of her looked at her.

"Infatuation, dammit!" He said, immediately biting his tongue and looking away. Fluttershy recoiled from his use of foul language, but then recovered.

"What do you mean, infatuation?" She asked, taking a step closer. He backed up.

"I tasted tangerines – the flavor of infatuation." He muttered. "It means that your… well… attracted to somepony. Somepony nearby."

_Wait, does he mean…_

"I'm… attracted to you?" She whispered. Smoking Dagger's eyes immediately buldged.

"No! Well, yes. Not me exactly, but I think it's just my current form." He stumbled upon the words, trying to make sense of them for Fluttershy and himself. "You did say I looked handsome like this." He muttered. "I guess you just find this form attractive."

"Oh…" Fluttershy said, her face turning beat red. Thankfully it was hidden by the night. "Y-your right, I suppose. It is just your form. Is that… a bad thing? Should I stop?"

"Well… I want to say both no and yes." Smoking admitted. "Infatuation is easy to get, and can sustain me. But I don't really think it's a good idea for you to stay… attracted to me."

"What if you changed forms?" Fluttershy asked. The stallion shook his head.

"I've already enlisted looking like this. If I change now, ponies will wonder will get curious." He kicked the ground awkwardly. "So I'm stuck like this."

"B-but is it such a bad thing?" The cream-colored pegasus asked shyly. "I mean, you get food, and it's not like it'll hurt me to just be attracted to what you look like… right?"

Smoking looked at the ground. "Right." He replied. "It just feels a little weird. Maybe we should–" Suddenly, the changeling's head snapped up in surprise. Fluttershy flinched reflexively.

"What is it?" She asked concerned.

"It's… I suddenly can taste so many emotions. They're familiar, and befuddled, and... sour." He mumbled inaudibly to himself for a bit, before remembering that Fluttershy was next to him. "Changelings." He whispered.

"What!" Fluttershy squeaked with fear.

"They're moving fast, but maybe won't get here till morning." He said. "I think Queen Chrysalis sent them out looking for insurgents."

"So everypony in the camp…"

"Is in danger." He said.

"We have to warn everypony!" Fluttershy cried as loudly as she dared. The pink maned mare began dashing off. Smoking easily caught up to her and blocked her path.

"Wait!" He said. "You can't tell anypony just yet."

"But they have to know!" Fluttershy insisted. Smoking nodded.

"Yes, they do. But when they ask you how you know you can't tell them a _changeling_ that you helped sneak into the army's ranks was able to sense them. We'd both be in trouble then."

"Oh." Fluttershy whispered.

"Here's what your going to do." Smoking said, taking charge of the situation. "Wake up Princess Luna, or whoever is in charge, and tell them that you were out flying before going to sleep. Say that based on the moonlight, you could see a changeling army in the distance."

"o-Okay." Fluttershy whispered. Smoking grabbed her forelegs hurriedly, causing her face to break out in a blush.

"Fluttershy, this is really important! You have to stick with that story no matter what! When they ask questions you just repeat that story. When they ask for more details you repeat that story. When they doubt that story you…"

"…repeat that story." The yellow pegasus filled in. Smoking nodded and released her.

"Now go. Hurry!"

Fluttershy didn't need to be told twice. She broke out into a run and didn't stop until she burst through the opening into Luna's tent, raving about oncoming changelings.

* * *

**Award thyself ten awesomeness points if you get what the chapter title is referencing. If not... eh go ahead and give yourself five awesomeness points (I'm feeling generous).**

**Well, that was the new chapter. A little heavy focus on the social aspect while building to a battle sequence that will be happening over the course of a few chapters, so you've got that to look forward to I guess.**

**This chapter as a whole, I wasn't sure about. Writers block plus wisdom teeth removal made me put this one off for a while, but I like to think it came out okay. Let me know in the reviews! (oh yeah, and happy Easter. If you don't celebrate Easter, than happy average day of the week!)**

**In Bronyhood,**

**Fire Gazer the Alchemist**


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